By way of background, I'm not a big Bond fan. I enjoyed the Pierce Brosnan Bond films, but no more than any other action/adventure films. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed all of the Daniel Craig Bond films and am looking forward to the new one (coming out Friday).

So, I have some questions:

(1) What Bond films should I watch (pre-Pierce Brosnan)? I won't watch them all, but are there some that stand out as good ones?(2) Are the Bond books worthwhile? If so, are there any I should read?

thegreekdog wrote:By way of background, I'm not a big Bond fan. I enjoyed the Pierce Brosnan Bond films, but no more than any other action/adventure films. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed all of the Daniel Craig Bond films and am looking forward to the new one (coming out Friday).

So, I have some questions:

(1) What Bond films should I watch (pre-Pierce Brosnan)? I won't watch them all, but are there some that stand out as good ones?(2) Are the Bond books worthwhile? If so, are there any I should read?

Goldfinger is a classic. If you are interested in watching a movie for the anthropological significance, go with that one. On her majesty's secret service is my personal favourite, but it has a slower feel to it than today's movies. Only watch it if you can deal with older movies. Live and Let Die is downright hilarious (in a good way) and its a decent crowd pleaser that I pull out. If you enjoy 80s actions movies, the ztimothy Dalton ones are good (The Living Daylights is Rambo III, but not a shitfest).

The books aren't literary masterpieces or anything, they are nice quick, pulpy reads. From Russia With Love stands out to me, approx. half the story does not directly follow Bond (it is unique in this regard). Also, Pres. Kennedy listed it as one of his favourite books. Also, it helps to read the books of the movies you watched, so you can see how different the series is. They are basically different worlds entirely. In the movies, Bond drinks vodka martinis, in the books he has an amazingly varied taste.

thegreekdog wrote:By way of background, I'm not a big Bond fan. I enjoyed the Pierce Brosnan Bond films, but no more than any other action/adventure films. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed all of the Daniel Craig Bond films and am looking forward to the new one (coming out Friday).

So, I have some questions:

(1) What Bond films should I watch (pre-Pierce Brosnan)? I won't watch them all, but are there some that stand out as good ones?(2) Are the Bond books worthwhile? If so, are there any I should read?

Goldfinger is a classic. If you are interested in watching a movie for the anthropological significance, go with that one. On her majesty's secret service is my personal favourite, but it has a slower feel to it than today's movies. Only watch it if you can deal with older movies. Live and Let Die is downright hilarious (in a good way) and its a decent crowd pleaser that I pull out. If you enjoy 80s actions movies, the ztimothy Dalton ones are good (The Living Daylights is Rambo III, but not a shitfest).

The books aren't literary masterpieces or anything, they are nice quick, pulpy reads. From Russia With Love stands out to me, approx. half the story does not directly follow Bond (it is unique in this regard). Also, Pres. Kennedy listed it as one of his favourite books. Also, it helps to read the books of the movies you watched, so you can see how different the series is. They are basically different worlds entirely. In the movies, Bond drinks vodka martinis, in the books he has an amazingly varied taste.

Best soundtrack is either Dr. No or Diamonds are Forever.

Enjoy.

Nice. Thanks.

Would you say the books are better, worse, or just different than the movies? My preference would be to read (since I can pick up and put down a book).

thegreekdog wrote:By way of background, I'm not a big Bond fan. I enjoyed the Pierce Brosnan Bond films, but no more than any other action/adventure films. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed all of the Daniel Craig Bond films and am looking forward to the new one (coming out Friday).

So, I have some questions:

(1) What Bond films should I watch (pre-Pierce Brosnan)? I won't watch them all, but are there some that stand out as good ones?(2) Are the Bond books worthwhile? If so, are there any I should read?

Goldfinger is a classic. If you are interested in watching a movie for the anthropological significance, go with that one. On her majesty's secret service is my personal favourite, but it has a slower feel to it than today's movies. Only watch it if you can deal with older movies. Live and Let Die is downright hilarious (in a good way) and its a decent crowd pleaser that I pull out. If you enjoy 80s actions movies, the ztimothy Dalton ones are good (The Living Daylights is Rambo III, but not a shitfest).

The books aren't literary masterpieces or anything, they are nice quick, pulpy reads. From Russia With Love stands out to me, approx. half the story does not directly follow Bond (it is unique in this regard). Also, Pres. Kennedy listed it as one of his favourite books. Also, it helps to read the books of the movies you watched, so you can see how different the series is. They are basically different worlds entirely. In the movies, Bond drinks vodka martinis, in the books he has an amazingly varied taste.

Best soundtrack is either Dr. No or Diamonds are Forever.

Enjoy.

Nice. Thanks.

Would you say the books are better, worse, or just different than the movies? My preference would be to read (since I can pick up and put down a book).

I watch the movies over and over again since I am a huge fan. The maximum I have read a book is twice. This is mainly because there are millions of other books I have to read, but also partially because there isn't much to bring you back to the books - the suspense is gone once you finish them. Also, the books were written very quickly together, while the movies were spread out over 50 years. So the books are like a time capsule, where the movies are like an evolution.

Final answer: different. Some are worse, some are better (using a 1:1 comparison) but I am a fan of both.

DoomYoshi wrote:One more addendum: the books can be found in great condition at almost every used bookstore and most public libraries. If you find a VHS for 1$, it will suck, so the books are certainly cheaper.

Wow...You're still watching VHSs in 2012????A dinosaur you are, you didn't lie when you chose your avatar.

From: Karl_R_KroenenTo: maxfaraday

I have noted this post and if it continues, there will be consequences for you.

I recommend all of the Sean Connery movies as I feel those best embodied the Bond from the books. That being said you can probably skip the Roger Moore and Timothy Dalton movies but there were some really cool action sequences in these as well(you should just watch them anyway). I feel that you can get a pretty good impression of the stories from the books but the movies really are visually awesome and I feel the movies give Bond that extra dimension. One of the few series that I feel the movies may actually be better than the books in some ways although I feel the books have a better "spy" feel as they are a little "colder". If you like Daniel Craig you will love the older movies for he is a pretty poor example IMHO.

DoomYoshi wrote:One more addendum: the books can be found in great condition at almost every used bookstore and most public libraries. If you find a VHS for 1$, it will suck, so the books are certainly cheaper.

Wow...You're still watching VHSs in 2012????A dinosaur you are, you didn't lie when you chose your avatar.

VHSs are just cheaper. I don't actually have a VCR, but I don't often see $1 blu-rays of the Bond Movies.

thegreekdog wrote:By way of background, I'm not a big Bond fan. I enjoyed the Pierce Brosnan Bond films, but no more than any other action/adventure films. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed all of the Daniel Craig Bond films and am looking forward to the new one (coming out Friday).

So, I have some questions:

(1) What Bond films should I watch (pre-Pierce Brosnan)? I won't watch them all, but are there some that stand out as good ones?(2) Are the Bond books worthwhile? If so, are there any I should read?

I have the Ian Fleming Bond collection in books. I only got through the first four or five back when I first got bought it a couple of years back, but picked them up again after having seen the new film, which is top quality and am currently reading Dr No. Casino Royale has probably been the best book of the ones so far, the others well... my problem with them is there is a LOT of racism in them, so it can make tough reading at certain points. People try and argue Fleming was a product of his time, but some of the passages are inexcusable with Live and Let Die being a particularly bad one. In regards to the movies, I haven't seen them all, but I've always preferred the Sean Connery ones like the previously mentioned Goldfinger to some of the Roger Moore films like Moonraker which is just too cheesy for words.

thegreekdog wrote:By way of background, I'm not a big Bond fan. I enjoyed the Pierce Brosnan Bond films, but no more than any other action/adventure films. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed all of the Daniel Craig Bond films and am looking forward to the new one (coming out Friday).

So, I have some questions:

(1) What Bond films should I watch (pre-Pierce Brosnan)? I won't watch them all, but are there some that stand out as good ones?(2) Are the Bond books worthwhile? If so, are there any I should read?

I have the Ian Fleming Bond collection in books. I only got through the first four or five back when I first got bought it a couple of years back, but picked them up again after having seen the new film, which is top quality and am currently reading Dr No. Casino Royale has probably been the best book of the ones so far, the others well... my problem with them is there is a LOT of racism in them, so it can make tough reading at certain points. People try and argue Fleming was a product of his time, but some of the passages are inexcusable with Live and Let Die being a particularly bad one. In regards to the movies, I haven't seen them all, but I've always preferred the Sean Connery ones like the previously mentioned Goldfinger to some of the Roger Moore films like Moonraker which is just too cheesy for words.

Perfect Line from Live and Let Die(this is from memory):

It was rare to see a negress driving a car in any part of the world, but particularly in New York.

It encapsulates how racist America is. Obama can wipe off his blackface now.

When the RM movies were coming out I liked them better, as they were "new"... but now I appreciate the earlier stuff.

I like "From Russia with Love".

I also like "In Her Majesty's Secret Service". It stars the lessor known George Lazenby as Bond. He was doomed to failure coming on the heels of Connery... but his doing this setup the idea /possibility of replacing Connery as a doable thing.

Interestingly (if I recall) I don't believe that "James Bond" is in the title of "In Her Majesty's Secret Service"... and I think it's unique in that regards. All the other official Bond films had "James Bond or 007" in the title. (I could be wrong.)

I think Roger and Pierce both did OK.

Sean was best... followed by Craig. Then George... Roger and Pierce... then finally Timothy Dalton (ugh).

Sean Connery was my favourite for many years, until I discovered George Lazenby and OHMSS. I really thought George Lazenby was the most realistic and believable Bond, a cultured English gentleman with real feelings about his life and career.

The new Craig guy is doing well, though. He's believable, although in a different way. He's more of a lower-class English punk, a cousin to John Thaw's portrayal of Jack Regan rather than the traditional upper-crust Bond.

Just saw skyfall, I thought it was the best of the 3 that Daniel Craig has been in.

Bond is dark and brooding, playful and charming, strong, weak, basically runs the gamut of emotions and attitudes through the course of the film, which is really good.

Javier Bardem as the villain is awesome, I've always enjoyed him.

Standard Bond plot, but that's not necessarily a bad thing, and with knowing that the stories are all fairly similar (end one mission, chill at MI6 for a while, bad guy does things, get new mission, f*ck someone, have f*ck buddy or someone else die, f*ck shit up, win, fin), this one does it well. Could it have been shorter? Maybe, but it didn't feel very long to me.

All in all, I enjoyed myself thoroughly, but I watched it late (11 showing, which means after previews and all that jazz I got out at 2:30, skipping the credits and any post-credit scene) so I may have been fuzzy on some problems in the film.